


I Know You

by ixamxleigh



Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-18 09:14:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16115366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ixamxleigh/pseuds/ixamxleigh
Summary: When Orion Pax begins to question Lord Megatron’s motives, he delves into Decepticon archives to try and find answers. What he finds in their laboratory files rattles him to his spark.This was supposed to be a one-shot but somehow wound up as a dual-chapter thing WOOPS





	1. Chapter 1

“Someone is not telling the truth.”

It unsettled Orion, not knowing who he could trust so soon after waking from stasis. Regaining consciousness in a strange room had almost been jarring, and he counted his fortune that Megatronus had been there. A familiar face had grounded him.

The archivist was quick to remind himself of his friend’s new title. One of many changes he was still adjusting to. The war with the Autobots, the fall of Cybertron, Warlord Ratchet’s devastation, Starscream’s uncanny rise from the dead, Orion still struggled to comprehend it all. The one thing that he knew for certain was that his spark ached deeply with the loss of his homeworld. Questions plagued his mind, brought on by Starscream’s odd behavior upon finding him. Though Orion wanted to trust his old friend, he knew that Lord Megatron was somehow not the same bot he knew on Cybertron. He loathed the doubt that crept into his mind, but he needed answers, and it was painfully obvious that no one on this ship would willingly provide them.

Taking one last look at the image of Optimus Prime, Orion exited this data bank to search through the rest of the archives. A task that soon proved to be more taxing than he had believed. Every data bank, every file that he attempted to pull forth flashed red and beeped aggressively in warning, only serving to fuel his unease.

“Why would the Decepticon archives be so heavily encrypted?” he inquired to no one in particular.

Sifting through the data, he found one data bank whose encryptions seemed to be lesser than the others, though not by much. Placing his hands on the keypad, Orion briefly contemplated returning to the Iacon database and resuming his assigned duty, a thought that left him as quickly as it came. He trusted his instincts, and they were currently telling him to dig for what he could not know.

The data bank he had found held files pertaining the Decepticon medbay and laboratory. Initially, he found nothing of particular interest. Reports on their wounded and deceased, evidence of the havoc the Autobots could wreak. Energon refinement protocols, showing that the Decepticons were thankfully well stocked, giving them an advantage in the war for Earth. Instructions for the cortical psychic patch procedure, as well as proper techniques for buffing and polishing armor. Though interesting in passing and no doubt useful to the Decepticon cause, it did nothing to alleviate his concerns.

Realising that to continue reading each file individually would consume far too much time, Orion began to search through the titles and levels of encryption on each with the hopes of gleaning some sense of priority. His optics flickered back and forth across the screen, scrutinizing the information before him. There, nearly at the bottom of the data bank, he found a file with heavy secondary encryptions. Piquing his interest, he immediately set to work decoding, this time proving easier than his previous attempts on other files.

Within seconds, the encryptions fell away, providing him full access to what had been dubbed the _Native Experiment_.

Under Starscream’s orders during his brief time as ruler of the Decepticons, an adolescent native of the planet Earth had been captured. Though he could not discern why through the records alone, the human, a female, had been through a horrific amount of experiments. Orion wanted to believe that Lord Megatron would never have condoned such atrocity had he not been out of commission at the time, but further reading showed that the experiments had been renewed with vigor upon his return.

The archivist’s very energon ran cold at the displays before him. Alongside diagrams of the human’s anatomy, visual recordings of select tests played as he perused Knockout’s records, filling his audio with anguished screams. Orion very quickly shut the recordings down, more for his own sanity than out of fear of being heard. He took a step back from the console, hands trembling.

How, _how_ could Megtron bring such suffering to another living being, _especially_ upon an innocent youngling?

Diving back to the keypad, Orion quickly searched the data for the human’s current status. A lull had fallen in the frequency of the experiments a short time before his awakening, but further reading showed that the human was kept in a small enclosure in a storage cell in between tests, not too far from his current position. His next course of action decided, Orion exited this file, before stepping away from the console.

The doors to his work station opened upon his approach. Cautiously stepping into the corridor, Orion was surprised to find that the entrance to his station nor the entrance to the energon storage vault were currently under guard. Taking his chance, he walked as stealthily down the hall as his size would allow. Though he knew he wouldn’t have much time before someone noticed his absence, he was cautious as he ventured to the storage cell. It paid off, as he narrowly avoided detection by a passing patrol upon reaching his destination.

Ducking into the cell, Orion held his breath, listening for any sign that he had been spotted. Detecting nothing out of the ordinary, he ex-vented, forcing his shoulders to relax. Espionage was not his strong suit.

The archivist returned to the task at hand, though he wondered what he would do once he found the youngling. He hadn’t quite thought that far ahead in his haste, further proving to himself that he wasn’t cut out for field work. The room around him was dimly lit, but enough so that he could glean the contents from where he stood. There were crates of various sizes, and Orion speculated that most were filled with tools for the workers aboard the ship. Spotting a brighter light coming from the back of the room, he quickly found a narrow path through the clutter.

The source of the glow showed to be a grav-lock. In its grasp sat a clear cube, barely a few meters tall and wide. The human he had seen in the recordings sat hunched in the corner furthest from him, her knees drawn up to her chest, right arm clutched around them, face buried in the crook of her arm. Her clothes were dirty and ragged, having severely degraded through their extended use during the human’s time on the ship, though not so degraded that they failed to serve their function. Her black hair, which had been long and luminous in the first recordings, was short, dull, and messy. Orion’s optics fell to her left arm, or rather, what had once been her left arm.

In place of the organic limb was the polished metal of a Cybertronian arm, looking uncomfortably out of place alongside the human’s softer, light-brown flesh. The hand of the limb was transformed into its blaster form, and on the shoulder proudly sat the Decepticon symbol. Following the arm to the rest of the body, Orion could see how the flesh bubbled with grotesque scarring where it met the foreign technology. He had seen the recording and read the report of the procedure that had given her the arm, and while her nerves had been deadened for the process, she had been left fully conscious.

Though he had taken some time to take in her current state, the youngling had not looked up to acknowledge him. By her bodily trembling, she knew of his presence, and the lack of acknowledgement was by choice.

“Hello,” he offered tentatively. Though an oddly simple greeting given the gravity of the situation, it fulfilled its intended purpose.

Slowly, the human lifted her head, and Orion’s optics were met with eyes of a deep, rich brown. He watched as they adjusted to the dark and took in his visage, startled when they widened as she gave a sharp gasp.

“You,” she breathed. “You’re Optimus Prime!”

Orion frowned. The human quickly shifted to sit on her knees, staring at him in shock. The archivist took in her gaunt features with sorrow, knowing from the recordings that her face had once held a youthful fullness.

“I’m afraid you are mistaken,” he admonished. “Though, you are not the first to refer to me by that name today.”

“Oh. . .” the human’s shoulders slumped, clearly disappointed. She glanced away, but returned her gaze when her interest resurfaced.

“Then. . . what do I call you?”

“I am Orion Pax.” he offered a gentle smile. “But you may call me Orion.”

The human tried the name for herself, “Orion. . .”

The bot bent forward, bringing his face closer to her enclosure.

“What may I call you?”

“I-I’m Anita,” the human grunted, struggling to her feet. Her legs wobbled slightly, but stilled once she regained her equilibrium. “Anita Miranda.”

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Anita Miranda.” he replied. “Though I wish it were under far better circumstances.”

“You can just call me Anita,” she said, tilting her head. “You’re. . . different, from the other robots.”

Orion raised a brow. “How so?”

“Well, you’re actually _nice_ to me,” she took a tentative step forward. “The others, they call me _thing_ and _pest_.” Her eyes became watery then. “They. . . they forced this _weapon_ on me. It. . . I. . .” Anita covered her eyes with her organic hand, but Orion did not fail to see the single drop of water leak from her eye down her face.

“I just want to go _home_.”

Orion straightened, pulling him away from the enclosure. Anita seemed to panic at this, stumbling forward and pressing her hands to the front pane of the cell, her metal arm connecting to the material with a loud clank.

“Wait, please don’t leave me in here!”

The archivist looked around the room, finding a keypad on the wall to his right, not far from the enclosure. He crossed the distance to it with purpose, turning back to Anita as his hand hovered over the controls.

“I will free you, but you must first return your arm to its original form, as I am unarmed.”

Anita looked at him curiously, but noticing his hand outstretched, she caught his meaning. She looked down at the blaster at the end of her arm, worry painting her features.

“I-I can’t,” she replied. “I don’t know how. They put this on me like this.” She raised the blaster over her head, as if to give him a better view of the weapon.

Orion hesitated. He did not wish to cause any harm or distress to her, but he would have little choice if she opened fire upon him, despite her meager size when compared to him. As though hearing his thoughts, Anita spoke again.

“I won’t attack you.” she said, placing her organic hand over her chest. Only then did Orion realized that, where her human “heart” should have been, resided a spark chamber. “On my honor.”

The sincerity in Anita’s voice sealed their fate as Orion turned back to the controls. Pressing two keys in quick succession, the human stumbling back as the front of the enclosure fell away. The bot returned to the cell, holding out his hands to her.

“Come, quickly. We do not have much time.”

Anita scrambled onto his metal palms on shaking arms and legs, her mech limb clanking against him as she situated herself. Once seated, he brought her in close to his chest, cupping his free hand around her, shielding her from view.

“Please remain as quiet as you can.”

Without waiting for a response, Orion quickly made his way out of the storage cell. Moving through the corridors with the utmost caution, he took care not to jostle his rescue around. They made it to his work station in record time, the doors sliding shut behind him just as the guards turned the corner to return to their station. The archivist ex-vented, relaxing his grip around Anita. Sensing his change in demeanor, she peeked around his digits.

“Where are we?” she asked.

Orion returned to the console, setting her down below the data screen.

“My work station. I am confined here under Lord Megatron’s orders.”

The human sat on the metal below her, not having enough energy to stand for too long.

“Then you took a lot of risk finding me. _Freeing_ me,” she stared up at him, gratitude shining in her eyes. “Thank you.”

Orion inclined his head, unable to audibly convey his feelings outside of just “thank you”. Anita turned to look up at the screen behind her, gargantuan from her angle.

“What were you assigned to do?”

“Lord Megatron has tasked me with decrypting the Autobot files in the Iacon database.” He glanced down at her then, a hint of amusement in his optics. “Though my progress has been delayed due to more pertinent tasks.”

Anita snorted as Orion turned back to the screen. But before he could return to his task, he was reminded of a question he had not been able to answer through Anita’s experiment files alone.

“Anita,” he began. “For what purpose did the Decepticons capture you?”

The bot immediately regretted his question when Anita looked down at her arm, her face pained.

“I don’t know why they took _me_ , specifically.” she began. “But I heard the other robots, Starscream and Knockout, I think, I heard them say that the Autobots swore an oath never to harm humans. That’s why they have me, and replaced my arm with a canon.” She looked up at him. “Optimus Prime would never harm a puny Earthling. That’s what they said.”

Orion shook his head. How was this possible? Megatron had said that the Autobots destroyed Cybertron, and now sought to bring the same destruction to Earth. But Anita had no reason to lie to him, and if what she said were true, then Megatron had every reason to deceive him.

“You were. . . _tortured_ ,” He couldn’t withhold the sorrow and disbelief in from voice. “To exploit an honorable weakness of Optimus Prime’s?”

Anita nodded, mirroring his melancholy.

“That’s why I mistook you for him when I saw you,” she explained. She then tapped a finger against her temple. “They burned his image into my brain everyday for _months_. You look _a lot_ like him.”

“I do not understand,” Orion returned his hands to the keypad, pulling the Autobot file. “I look nothing like the individual shown here.”

Anita turned to watch him pull up the image on file for Optimus Prime, shaking her head as soon as it came into view.

“That’s _not_ Optimus Prime.”

Orion studied the image on screen. His optics narrowed as he scrutinized the data before him. Something about the image, now that he studied it as a whole and not just the bot it depicted, seemed fabricated, almost layered. He began typing on the keypad, inputting commands to see if he could detect and remove the fabrication. Anita watched with rapt attention as the image began to pixelate, red and blue moving across the screen as beeps resounded in quick succession. Within a few tense seconds, the mess of pixels began to clear, and the truth laid bare before them.

“It’s. . . It’s you!” Anita gasped.

“How could I be. . . Optimus Prime?” Orion was. . . stunned, to say the least. He scanned the screen again, but there were no hints of further fabrication. This was the true visage of the Autobot leader, and it was him. Anita tapped her cannon arm against the metal of the console, thinking carefully.

“I don’t know how long I’ve been in here, but the Decepticons hated Optimus Prime and talked about him even when I first arrived, so he’s, or _you’ve_ been, on Earth for a while now.” she stared at him, looking as lost as he felt. “But then, how are you _here now_ , going from an Autobot to a Decepticon on their ship?”

“Lord Megatron assured me that I had been captured by the Autobots. He claims that I had awoken from stasis when he rescued me. I have no memory of where I was, or who the bots calling to me were, and I had no reason to believe that Megatron would deceive me.” Orion hung his head, the repercussions of what was unfolding weighing on him.

“Well. . .” Anita shrugged, giving him a half-hearted shrug. “They are _Decepti_ cons.”

Orion made a noise then that, to Anita, sounded like a chuckle, and she was relieved that she could help bring some sort of relief from the situation. The archivist opened his mouth to reply, but froze when he heard footsteps approaching his station. Anita heard them too, heavy, slow and deliberate.

Megatron.

“Quick, you must hide!” Orion brought his face closer to Anita, expressing his urgency with the situation. She jumped to her feet, looking around frantically. To his surprise, the human dove for his chest, climbing as quickly as she could single-handedly under his chin before wedging herself between his armor and his chest on his right side. It was clever, but Orion would have to remember not to breathe too deeply lest he crush his friend.

The archivist quickly returned to the console, removing the Autobot files from the screens and pulling up the Iacon database. Not a second later, Megatron strode in, hands clasped behind his back.

“Orion,” the leader greeted. There was an unsettling hint of aggression in his words. “Have you made progress with Project Iacon?”

Orion turned to his old friend, keeping his movements natural while keeping Anita’s hiding spot safe from view. He could feel her quiver under his armor, Megatron’s very presence eliciting fear within her.

“It seems that I am a bit rustier than I thought.” he replied. Megatron continued to stare at the screens in front of him.

“Might that have anything to do,” The Decepticon leader turned on him then. “With the nature of your after hours research?”

Megtron strode forward to stand so that Orion was placed at his side, glaring down at the archivist sidelong. Orion used the height difference as an excuse to lean back to look up at his “leader” and further keep Anita from view.

“Did I fail to mention that we would be tracking your activities?” the silver bot pressed a key on the console, bringing Orion’s prior discovering back onto the screens. The archivist looked away, then turned back to his friend to voice his concerns in quick succession.

“Why does history portray me as siding with the Autobot aggressors?” he paused only long enough to vent. “And why did Starscream call me a Prime? I must know!” Orion clenched his fists, glancing down at them. “ _Who am I?_ ”

Megatron only glared further.

“You are my _clerk._ ” He jerked his silver helm towards the screens. “Now get back to work and decode that database.”

Orion stood up straight, glancing down. He could glimpse Anita hidden among his armor. She stared up at him, brown eyes wide, waiting for his response. He knew she was relying on him to do the right thing. Finally, he shook his head.

“No. I would rather erase my findings than make them available for your questionable use.” Orion turned then, pressing a single key on the console, and the Iacon encryptions on screen fizzled out of existence, leaving behind only a purple Decepticon symbol. He turned to stare defiantly at the bot before him. Megatron’s glare turned from annoyance to sheer malice, but Orion turned to walk away as though unfazed.

Megatron began to laugh darkly behind him, causing the archivist to stop dead in his tracks. Orion turned and watched as Megatron pressed the same key he had, his work on the Iacon database reviving on screen.

“Did you _really_ think we wouldn’t be tracking and documenting every iota of your valuable research?” Megatron held Orion’s wide stare, gesturing to the screen behind him. They both turned as the door to the station opened, Soundwave silently stepping in to show the Decepticon lord an image of Cybertron on the screen that comprised his face.

“One of our sentries was activated, on _Cybertron_?”

“ _You told me our planet was dead._ ” Orion’s voice strained with his frustration.

“That is besides the point!” Megatron snapped, swiping a hand through the air. “Guards!”

The door to the work station opened once more as the Decepticon stalked forward.

“You will _finish_ Project Iacon by the time I return,” Megatron raised his arm towards Orion’s chest as a sword sprung forth from his wrist. “Or I will _carve out your spark before your very eyes_.”

Orion could only see his horrified expression in his reflection on Megatron’s sword, but he felt Anita shift in his armor, trying to push herself further beneath it. Choosing not to risk provoking Megatron further, Orion averted his eyes away from the bot before him. This seemed to sate him, as the silver sword was sheathed just as quickly as it was produced. Megatron stepped away from the archivist, leaving the station with Soundwave in tow. Orion shifted in his stance, eyeing the guards now stationed within his workspace. Anita shifted in his armor, causing the bot to turn from the guards. He didn’t speak, only gently putting his hand on his chest, hoping the young human understood the need to stay put. Thankfully, her movement ceased.

Orion returned to the main console and began typing. He needed to remove both of them from this situation, but until then, he had to buy them time. He knew little about the ship overall, and with the guards now looking over his shoulder he couldn’t bring up any information he might have made use of. There was no feasible path to safety, and all he could do in the meantime was provide Megatron with coordinates for weapons that he would use for unknown reasons. The archivist must have tensed, as he felt Anita begin to softly pat one of the valves protected by his armor. He forced himself to relax, grateful that at least he was not alone in this dire time.

“No one told you to stop, _Pax_.”

Orion looked up, having realized that he must have stopped his work while lost in thought. He turned to the armed guards approaching him.

“I believe Megatron intends to use whatever he finds in Project Iacon to harm the Autobots.” he declared, attempting to appeal to his guards’ better natures. He took a few steps forward. “Please, we can warn them-”

He was cut off when the guard on his left drove their fist upward into his abdomen, followed quickly by another blow to the side of his head, driving him to the floor. Anita screamed as the blows knocked her loose, only barely managing to be caught safely in one of Orion’s hands even as the guard kicked him in the side. Sparks flew, and the blows only stopped when the guards took notice of the human cradled in the archivist’s hand.

“It’s the Earthling!” One shouted, moving his blaster away from Orion to point it at her.

“It’s escaped!”

Anita straightened suddenly in Orion’s hand.

“Leave. Him. _Alone!_ ” she bellowed, her voice carrying surprisingly well for her size. With a warrior’s cry, she lifted her mech arm and opened fire.

Though her blasts were not as large as one fired from the average Cybertronian blaster, the packed nearly as much force and were rapidly delivered. The guards were caught off guard, stumbling back. Orion took the time to move into a sitting position, pushing back away from their attackers and holding Anita close to his chest. Unfortunately, the distraction didn’t last long. It was two armed guards against an armed human and an unarmed archivist, and Anita had no formal training. She couldn’t fire on both at once, and they surged forward, reaching for her.

“No!” Orion swung his arm, trying to shield her. His attempts only awarded him with another punch to the side of the head, and Anita was ripped from his grasp. He reached desperately for her, stopping short when the guard threw another kick into his side, driving him forward to his hands. The two bots took turns beating him then while Anita screamed in one’s clutches.

“Stop it, stop it!” she shrieked, angrily fighting the hand around her. They continued their onslaught until Orion collapsed, onto his stomach.

“You gotta admit,” The one not holding Anita spoke, sounding almost breathless. “It’s a privilege to stomp the former leader of the Autobots.”

Orion feably drug himself away with just his hands, collapsing again not too far from where he had been. He rolled onto his side, looking to the guard that spoke, then to the screen where his image as the Autobot leader still remained, then back. The guards advanced, ready to begin again.

“Orion! Throw a punch!” Anita shouted. “You have to fight back!”

The guards only laughed, each one taking a place on either side of Orion. One threw a punch that hit him so hard, he slid backwards into the console behind him. More kicks and punches followed, sparks flew and pain blurred his vision. Anita screamed angrily, just as helpless as he was.

“No! Please, stop!” he begged, bringing his arms up to try and protect what he could. This wasn’t right. There was no reason for this punishment besides cruelty and spite. This had to stop. Anita’s screams and the laughs of the guards filled his audio. He had to stop this!

“Enough!” He bellowed.

Silence fell as everyone froze, staring at the very large blasters that now resided where Orion’s hands used to be. The archivist stared down, stunned.

“I. . . I’m armed?”

“You’re armed!” Anita repeated excitedly. Taking advantage of the guards’ shock, she yanked her mech arm out from between the hand around her and herself, opening fire on the bot’s face with gusto.

The second guard shifted his arm back into a blaster, turning to stop the human from blinding his fellow Decepticon. Orion opened fire then, his optics squeezing shut from the force of his own blasts. The Decepticons went down, throwing Anita from their grasp as they fell. She yelped as she flew through the air, Orion barely managing to transform his arm back to its natural state and catch her before she could meet any serious harm. He looked at the bodies of the fallen guards, then back to the human catching her breath in his palm.

“Are you. . . Are you hurt?” he asked, struggling to catch his own breath. Anita shook her head brusquely, turning to stare at the bodies as Orion stood shakily to his feet. He stared at the blaster at the end of his other arm, still in shock.

“Orion? Orion!” Anita spoke sharply. He shook his head with a start, meeting her incredulous stare. “Run for it!”

She yelped again as Orion took off at a breakneck pace, quickly wrapping her organic arm around one of his digits for security. Though he traveled at what could only be considered a sprint, with his height and stride length it was almost like being in a moving vehicle. Wind whipped at Anita’s hair, and she was glad now that it had been chopped off by the Decepticon doctor on account of how her “hideous human fur” had interfered with his testing.

“We have to find a glowy portal!” She shouted. Over the wind, she could hear a group running down a corridor towards them as they passed. “I’m not sure what they do, but I think they take you places!”

“A groundbridge!” Orion replied. He stopped to look around for what they needed. “Any console should be able to open one from our current location.”

“Wait, even the console back in the work station?”

They didn’t have time to dwell on their mistake. The patrol that Anita had heard, rounded the corner, blocking off their way back. Each bot raised a blaster and aimed for them.

“Stop right there!”

Anita opened fire first, with Orion quickly following her lead. He tended to miss more than he hit, but each hit that did manage to land took out a guard. With their combined effort, all five guards fell after several seconds of intense exchange. Anita’s mech arm trembled as she lowered it ceasing fire.

“I’m not going back to that cage!” Anita shouted, turning frantically back to Orion. “I can’t! I-I won’t!”

Orion raised his palm so that he could easily look into Anita’s eyes.

“Anita, you will never be harmed by the Decepticons again,” he steeled his gaze, and in that moment she could see the Autobot leader that everyone claimed he was. “This I vow with my entire spark.”

Anita took a deep, calming breath and nodded. Orion lifted his hand to his shoulder, where she stepped off.

“You are a better shot than I,” he explained. “Hold on tight, and guard my back.”

“Yes sir.”

Orion took off again, locating an open room with a console just as another patrol of guards closed in on them. With energon blasts raining down around them, he dove into the room, the door sliding shut behind them. Anita fired a few shots into the door sensor above, buying them time.

“Okay, console found.” she took a quick look at the screen as Orion began typing, but couldn’t make sense of the alien language flashing around. “Where do we go from here?”

“I am not sure,” the archivist admitted, pulling a set of coordinates. “But these were the last coordinates entered into the groundbridge, by Megatron.”

“What?!” Anita froze. “Why would we go where Megatron is?!”

“I fear Megatron has gone to stop the Autobots in their current mission,” he said, entering the coordinates. “He would harm them, and they may require our aid.”

The groundbridge opened up beside them, just as something heavy began to pound on the door to their shelter. Anita took another deep breath, readjusting her grip on Orion’s helm.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

As the metallic pounding became more frantic, Orion stepped into the green swirl of light. Making their way forward, the banging behind them faded away, replaced by a sound much more sinister.

“Come Arcee,” came Megatron’s smooth rasp. “So that I may end the lineage of the Primes for all time.”

Orion raised a hand to his shoulder, and Anita jumped on.

“If I tell you to run,” he began, setting her onto the floor beside him. “You must do so, without question.”

Anita didn’t have time to answer as Orion strode forward, his shoulders set in determination.

“I cannot allow that to happen Megatron.” he said, announcing his presence. Anita hurried alongside him, joining him in his defiance. Megatron turned to address them.

“Why should you care, _Orion Pax?_ You are no _Prime_.” The Decepticon turned his blazen gaze to Anita, sneering. “And you, _vermin_ , I should have terminated you long ago.”

“I may not be a Prime,” Orion raised his voice, drawing Megatron’s attentions away from the human. “Or that yet may be another deception.” The archivist clenched his fist and strode forward. “But this much I do know. My sympathies lie with the Autobots, and _you_ are not one of us.”

Orion then transformed his hands into swords, much to Anita’s astonishment. She quickly shoved her awe aside, standing at Orion’s side, her blaster aimed straight at Megatron. Orion let out a ferocious cry, charging into battle. With no hope of matching his speed, Anita hung back and opened fire, belting out her own war cry.

Their bravado was short lived, however, as Megatron easily countered Orion’s blade, following up with a punch to the gut. Orion fell to the floor onto his hands and knees, and though Anita gave everything she had into the blasts she fired at him, Megatron barely spared her a glance.

“Your spark may be in the right place, Orion.” The Decepticon leader made a show of cracking his neck, before slamming his fist down onto Orion’s shoulders, further driving the archivist to the ground. He threw Orion forward towards Anita, the bot landing mere feet in front of her. His blades shifted back into hands as he struggled to lift himself from the floor.

“But you have much to learn before you can hope to ever again stand your ground against me.” Megatron growled, raising his arm as his sword unsheathed from his arm. Anita ran forward trying to place herself in between her torturer and her savior. She knew it was fruitless, but she raised her blaster in defiance all the same.

“A moment, sadly, which shall never come.”

Then, from the portal behind him, came the high rev of a motorcycle engine. Just as Megatron drew his hand back to strike, the motorcycle exited the portal, then changed into another robot midair, using their velocity to drive Megatron up and over them. A human about her height wearing what looked like a spacesuit approached them as Orion rose unsteadily to his knees. He obviously hadn’t been expecting to see her, stopping in his tracks, wide eyes staring back and forth from her face to her mech arm.

“Uh, hi, I’m-”

Anita threw up a hand to stop him. “Sorry, later!” She quickly turned to Orion, shouting, “I’m going to go help the motorcycle!” before running into the fray.

Orion and the human watched her run and throw her own blaster shots into the mix. The archivist turned to see the human, another youngling, holding what he recognized to be the key to Vector Sigma aloft. The bot hesitated, self doubt and apprehension creeping in.

“Are you. . . _certain_ , I am worthy?” he asked. The human smiled.

“You have _no idea_.” He raised the key higher, squeezing one eye shut as a beam of data shot straight into his spark chamber, Orion’s chest moving apart to give the key direct access.

Anita gritted her teeth, her right arm helping to hold her mech arm steady as she blasted Megatron with everything she had. She and the other Autobot ran to and fro, dancing to keep out of the Decepticon’s reach. The method worked for a time, but even now Anita and the other bot were outmatched. Megatron feigned a grab for her, only to turn on his heel and snatch the motorcycle bot out of the air, slamming her against a nearby pillar.

“How _nice_ of you to join our little reunion,” He snarled. “Now if you please, _the Matrix!_ ”

A high-pitched whir caught their attention then, drawing them away from the battle, and to the sight of Orion kneeling humbly before the boy in the spacesuit. Megatron’s red optics widened with realization. He violently threw the smaller bot to the floor, charging towards the still pair. Anita ran after him, firing her blasters as she went.

_Those damn Decepticons really couldn’t have given me wheels of some sort to keep up with all of these giants, could they?_ , she thought begrudgingly, though without an ounce of sincerity.

Out of nowhere, a red and white bot threw himself at Megatron from the side, though it did little to slow him as he turns to backhand the Autobot into another nearby pillar. Anita narrowly avoids the bot crushing her as they fall to the floor.

The beam of light stops then, and the key rises independently from the boy’s grasp, floating gently into Orion’s as his chest armor shifted back into place.

“No!” Megtron bellows, leaping into the air, raising his sword to strike.

“Orion!” Anita cried out in warning, forgetting about shooting Megatron and just closing the distance between Orion and herself.

She stumbled to a halt, as Orion turned on his heel and caught the offending sword i _n between his hands_.

“Megatron,” the bot’s voice was low and serious, and Anita had the sudden realization that the Autobot leader had returned, and that Megatron was probably screwed. And judging by the look in the Decepticon’s eyes, he knew it too.

“Begone!”

Anita dove to the side of the platform as Orion drove his point home by driving his fist squarely into Megatron’s face. She watched, slack-jawed, as one of the bots who ruined her life was driven back by Orion’s righteous fury, recieving sucker punch after sucker punch, until they reached the center of the platform, wherein a heavy uppercut sent the Decepticon flying into one of the cave’s stone pillars.

Around them, the Autobots began to rise from where they had fallen. They joined their leader once more, forming a blockade in front of the giant groundbridge behind them.

“Ratchet, how did we arrive here?” Orion asked the white and red bot urgently, his face stern behind the mask that had appeared over his mouth.

“Looong story old friend,” replied Ratchet, sounding relieved as he transformed his hands into blades. Suddenly a new voice cut into their reunion.

“Base to Arcee!” came a deep male voice. “We’re reading five Autobot life signals down there. Is Prime with you?”

“And Jack,” affirmed the motorcycle bot, or Arcee. “As well as a new addition.”

Anita blinked, realizing that the blue bot had referred to her. Someone on her right bumped her shoulder, and she turned to see the boy, Jack she guessed, smiling.

“Welcome to Team Prime.”

An angry groan sounded from the far side of the platform, Megatron using the sides to pull himself back onto his feet. The Autobots, including Anita, opened fire.

“It’s ours!” shouted Arcee, though Anita wasn’t quite sure what she meant, her focus entirely on bringing Megatron down.

“Autobots, fall back!” Orion ordered, moving to put himself in between them and a furious Megatron. She surged forward a few steps, holding her ground, barely noticing that Jack had been scooped up by Arcee before she jumped into a new groundbridge on her right. Ratchet followed suit, then a yellow and black bot jumped too.

“This time, he’s coming with us!” The large green bot beside her proudly stated before joining his teammates in the portal.

Orion and Megatron exchanged a few more blasts between them as he stepped back towards the groundbridge, dropping down to one knee to single-handedly scoop up Anita, before launching them sideways into the portal.

Megatron’s enraged bellows where the only thing to follow them through.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge shoutout to my bbf (best bro forever) arch-mage-cider-tanuki.tumblr.com for beta reading!!! <3

The reunion was already well underway by the time Orion and Anita emerged on the other side of the groundbridge. She had expected to find more Autobots there, but instead there were humans mingling and celebrating with the bots she had fought beside. The yellow and black bot had knelt on the ground, a kid with glasses clinging to his foot. There was a girl not much older with pink streaks in her hair waving excitedly to all of the Autobots, and an older man in a suit and tie stood not too far behind her. Jack had removed the helmet of his spacesuit and was embracing a woman in medical scrubs that looked too much like him to not be his mom.

The groundbridge shut down as they joined the other inside what must have been the Autobot base. The three kids rushed forward, looking apprehensive.

 “Optimus?” asked the kid with glasses. Orion smiled.

 “Hello, Rafael.”

 The kid, Rafael, beamed, and the girl with pink streaks in her hair ran to his side. Jack followed not too far behind.

 “The big guy remembers us!” she punctuated her statement by jumping into the air, fists raised above her head as she let out an excited woop.

 Orion smiled fondly at the children before turning his gaze to Anita, who still sat in his hands. She beamed at him, knowing they were finally safe. The archivist and returning leader, frowned down at her, as though confused by her presence.

 “Although, it seems there is much I do not remember.”

 Anita’s spirits plummeted, knots forming in her stomach as the realization hit her.

  _He doesn’t remember the Decepticon ship. He doesn’t remember_ me _._

 She turned her gaze away, shoulders sagging. They had been through so much together in a short amount of time. Orion knew what she went through, and they had fought side by side to escape. Now she was the only one who knew of it.

 Orion- or Optimus now, she supposed- tilted his shoulder to frown now at the silver Decepticon symbol adorning it. His troubled attention was pulled away as Ratchet began to speak.

 “Optimus,” he began. “It has truly been our darkest hour, but know this.” Ratchet strode forward, and Anita noticed that Optimus was very tall, even by Cybertronian standards. Behind him, the yellow and black bot moved to his feet, standing at attention with the rest of the Autobots.

 “From every indication, your spark never ceased being that of an Autobot.” He clasped Optimus’ free arm then. The Autobot leader turned to the rest of the team, who all rushed forward to greet him.

 “Hey!” shouted the girl with pink streaks in her hair.  She pointed eagerly up at Anita. “Who’s the new chick?”

 Anita turned to see every eye and optic was now on her. Panicking at the sudden attention, she looked up to Optimus for help. She regretted it, instead finding the same mix confusion and curiosity that the others held.

 “It is alright,” Optimus spoke gently. Though the human he held in his hands was unfamiliar to him, he could only imagine how overwhelming this must be. “You are safe here. What may we call you?”

 The gentleness he showed her reminded Anita of meeting Orion, and she thought that perhaps he wasn’t entirely gone.

 “I-I’m Anita,” she took a deep breath, facing the others before continuing. “Anita Miranda.”

 “Anita Miranda?” spoke the man in the suit and tie. Hearing him again, Anita recognized him as the voice she had heard on their communications asking if Optimus had been with them.

 “You mean to tell me that you’re the girl who disappeared from Reno over a year ago?”

 Jack’s mom gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. Anita felt her own pulse quicken. A year. She’d been trapped on that ship for an entire year. She faintly heard the young girl speak below.

“Woah, that’s heavy.”

 “Nurse Darby,” Optimus spoke, cutting through the sudden tension in the room. “Could you please assess the status of Anita’s health?”

“Oh, of course!” The nurse turned and walked quickly up the stairs behind the group up onto a raised cement platform.

 “Just set her over here, I’ll grab my med kit.”

 The Autobots parted to allow Optimus through. He cradled Anita carefully in his hands, walking towards a giant glass cylinder, stopping short to ease her onto a waiting gurney. She let her hand linger on one of his digits, and though he seemed to reciprocate her hesitance to part ways, Optimus pulled away all the same, letting his hands stay only for the short time it took for Nurse Darby to join them. The woman set her med kit beside Anita on the gurney, offering her a kind smile as she moved to stand in front of her and Optimus stepped away.

 “Hi there, I’m June Darby, Jack’s mom.”

 Anita returned Nurse Darby’s smile, relaxing somewhat. The woman pulled her kit open, retrieving a stethoscope from inside.

 “How are you feeling hon? Does anything hurt?”

 “I’m tired ma’am,” she admitted, straightening her posture as Nurse Darby placed the buds of the stethoscope in her ears. “But I couldn’t be happier, now that I’m here.”

 “That’s the spirit.” the nurse laughed, falling silent as she pressed the end of the stethoscope to her chest.

 Anita stared past Nurse Darby, watching Optimus as the stethoscope move around. He sat on a box-car sized crate. Ratchet stood at his side, speaking low as he took the Prime’s shoulder in one had and produced a welder with the other. She startled suddenly, as something very cold pressed against her spark chamber. The sound stunned Nurse Darby, who withdrew the stethoscope as Anita covered the spot with her organic hand.

 “I-I’m sorry,” she amended. “I’m not used to being able to feel that. P-Please, don’t touch it.”

 Nurse Darby relaxed and apologized in turn, moving to place the stethoscope on Anita’s back instead. Her brow furrowed with concentration, listening with laser focus as she moved the device around there too. After a few tries, the woman straightened and stood back, pulling the buds out of her ears and placing them around her neck.

 “Ratchet, I need your scanner, _now._ ”

 The bot, who Anita now figured to be the nurse for the Autobots, scoffed.

 “Nurse Darby, I’m quite certain that your human tools are sufficient enough to-”

 Jack’s mother quickly cut him off with a stern tone.

 “She doesn’t have a _heartbeat_ Ratchet.”

 Ratchet’s protest died in his throat, turning away from his work on Optimus’ shoulder to stare, optics wide. Anita found herself at the center of attention again, everyone including Optimus staring with horrified expressions.

 Rafael gulped, “Doesn’t that mean she’s dead?”

 “They turned her into a zombie!” The younger girl exclaimed. “Or better, a vampire!”

 The medical bot strode forward, shaking his head.

 “Nurse Darby, that’s preposterous. Human’s cannot function without-”

 “She’s right.” Anita interjected, suddenly finding her voice. She lowered her hand away from her spark chamber.  Ratchet held his forearm in front of him as a flat beam of light emitted from it and began to move slowly down her body, starting at her head. “I don’t have a heart. The Decepticons, they took it when they took my arm and gave me this.”

 If horrified expressions could intensify, they did on every face currently in the room. Anita stretched out her mech arm, pulling down the tattered collar of her shirt to show more of her spark chamber. Ratchet focused his scans there, then tapped the screen on inner side of his forearm. He turned to view the large screens to their left, where diagrams of Anita’s mech anatomy began to appear.

 “By the Allspark,” Ratchet breathed.

 “Well? What is it?” the green bot asked urgently.

 “It would seem that, somehow, the Decepticons not only grafted a Cybertronian limb to human anatomy _successfully_ ,” the medical bot leaned towards the screens, hands splayed flat on the console below him. “But replaced an organic heart with a spark chamber and pumping mechanism as well.”

 Arcee moved to Ratchets side, glaring at the diagrams onscreen.

 “Those _barbarians_ .” she growled, clenching her fists. “I knew they stooped low, but abducting and experimenting _on a human child_ is. . . ugh!”

 “Lady Liberty’s mercy. . .” the man in the suit breathed.

 “The pumping mechanism you mentioned,” Nurse Darby studied the scans from her spot beside Anita’s gurney. “I’m assuming that’s what’s keeping her blood flowing as it should?”

 “Your assumptions would be correct Nurse,” Ratchet affirmed. “Blood flows through her veins as it should, but the mechanism, as well as her Cybertronian limb, are fueled by energon. Though the substance is harmful to humans under normal circumstances, the rest of Anita’s body is protected from it while it is contained within her Cybertronian organs.”

 The medical bot moved around the platform to stand in front of Anita. With surprising gentleness, he took her mech limb into his hand. He inspected it closely, moving each joint carefully as he studied.

 “I need you to transform this to its natural state. I would like to observe the transformation delay timing for any potential abnormalities.”

 “I can’t. I don’t know how to,” Anita repeated what she had told Optimus when he was still Orion. “They put this arm on me like this.”

 Ratchet glanced up from her limb, raising a brow with a hum.

 “My scans showed a small T-cog within your limb. It stands to reason that you possess the ability to transform your upper arm, at the very least.”

 Familiar footsteps approached them as Optimus stood beside the medic.

 “Perhaps a demonstration would help the matter.”

 He lowered an arm down near the gurney, then transformed his hand into the blaster cannon she had first witnessed back on the Nemesis. Then, Anita watched with rapt attention as he slowly shifted the weapon back into its natural form. He nodded to her as he withdrew his hand, encouraging her to make her own attempt.

 Anita stared down at her mech and organic limbs, now held side by side in front of her. Ratchet had relinquished his hold on her, moving back to watch her. She focused on her organic hand, imagining her mech arm changing into a normal hand as Optimus had done. Her brow furrowed with the effort, and she could feel something new coming to life within the metal limb. With a click, the metal barrel of her blaster split seamlessly in two, and more pieces began to separate from there.

 “Yes, that’s it!” Ratchet prompted. “Keep going.”

 Anita willed her limb to continue the transition, though she hardly needed to. The process was slower and shakier than Optimus’ transformation, but in only a few moments the seams had rearranged themselves and settled in place. By the time the last seamed sealed, Anita was staring at a Cybertronian hand in place of the blaster she had grown accustomed to. It looked somewhat like Optimus’, thought it was exactly the same size as her organic hand. She sat in disbelief, wiggling the fingers on both hands in tandem.

 “Astonishing,” Ratchet murmured as the others around them broke into applause, the young girl shouting “Cool!” at the top of her lungs.

 “Now, transform it back again.” the medic instructed. Anita wanted to study her new hand for a little while longer, but did as she was told. The transition back to far less time than the first attempt, and was far more fluid.

 “Good, good!” Ratchet tapped on the screen on his forearm, seemingly pleased with Anita’s progress. “And back again.”

 The young woman obeyed, the third try going even smoother than the last.

 “Very good,” The medical bot stepped away, tapping some more on the screen in front of him. “Your Cybertronian portions seem to be running at 100% efficiency. With practice, I surmise that you could be a force to be reckoned with, human or otherwise.”

 “And from what I can tell, your human self just needs a good meal and a good night’s sleep.” Nurse Darby smiled at her, patting her leg. She returned her stethoscope back to the med kit.

 “If someone volunteers a ride, I can go pick up-”

 “Don’t worry about it June.” The man in the suit stood at the railing above them, straightening his tie. “My chopper’s still up top. I’ll head out  and grab some pies. Be back in a jiff!”

 He paused to nod to Anita, “I’m glad you’ve been found and returned to proper safety, Miss Miranda.”

 And just like that, he turned on his heel and vanished from her view. Anita soon heard what sounded like an elevator start up and ascend.

 “Alright, pizza!” Rafael cheered. Anita chuckled, turning to face forward, only to find that the young girl with pink streaked hair now stood where Nurse Darby had been. She bounced on her heels, clearly excited as she took a deep breath.

 “Hi I’m Miko!” she proclaimed. “I like your haircut. Do you speak Spanish? You sound like you speak Spanish. Do you like heavy metal? What’s your favorite band? Have you shot anybody with your gun arm? Have you shot any _Decepticons_ with it? I bet-”

 “Miko, Miko!” the large green bot moved his hands in a downward motion, trying to placate the human firecracker. “Take it easy, she’s been through a lot.”

 “Aww Bulk! I just-”

 “Thank you,” Anita thought carefully about each question, trying to keep the answers in order in her head. “Yes, yes, Mental Chaos, and I’ve shot _lots_ of Decepticons with my blaster.”

 Miko beamed, turning back to the large green bot. “I like her!”

 The bot laughed, moving to stand behind Miko. “I’m Bulkhead, by the way.”

 Anita gave a small wave with her new hand. “Hi Bulkhead.”

 “You’ve already met Ratchet and Optimus.” he continued, jerking a thumb behind him. Ratchet only grumbled, having resumed his work on Optimus’ arm.

 “Over there is Jack, Arcee, Raf, and Bumblebee.” Each individual waved as they were named. The yellow bot, Bumblebee, sounded a few beeps and whirs.

 “He says hi,” Raf translated. “And that he’s happy you’re here!”

 Anita laughed, easily getting the strong sense of family from this group. A far warmer contrast to her time with the Decepticons.

 “I’m glad to be here to, believe me!” she replied. She glanced around Bulkhead, catching sight of the Autobot medic. “Hey, Ratchet?”

 “Yes Anita?” His response was polite, but there was a hint of annoyance that she didn’t miss.

 “When you finish fixing Ori- _Optimus_ , can you fix my arm next?”

 “I’ve already assessed your limb and it’s fully function-” The medic stopped short as he looked over to Anita, eyeing her mech limb as he finally caught her meaning.

 “I see. . . Yes of course. It’ll only be a few minutes.” he murmured, resuming his welding on Optimus’ shoulder.

 Anita nodded. “Thank you.”

 Miko stuck around to poke and prod at her arm in the meantime. The other bots reclined on makeshift seats of against the base walls, weariness setting in now that they had time to settle after their mission. Jack and Raf hovered nearby, obviously wanting to join Miko in her inspections, but polite enough not to crowd her. Anita offered them a half-smile, inclining her head in invitation. The two boys were at her side in seconds. Raf held her robotic hand between his own, adjusting his glasses as he studied the limb. Jack kept his hands to himself and merely watched the other two, having changed out of his spacesuit some time ago.

 “So. . .” he began lamely. “Decepticon experiment, huh?”

 Miko snorted from behind her. “Tch, smooth.”

 “Yup.” Anita replied just as lamely. She didn’t mind the attention as awkward as it was, welcoming it after so much time among harsh metal. “You went to space huh? Someplace called Cybertron?”

 “Yup,” Jack mimicked. “Had to download the knowledge of the Primes.”

 She clicked her tongue, “Guess Optimus and I weren’t the only ones having a weird day.”

 The teen laughed, “You have _no_ idea.”

 “Weird days are everyday on Team Prime.” Miko interjected. “I’ve seen my fair share of action here too.”

 “Miko, that’s because you sneak off and follow the Autobots into battle _without_ permission!” Raf clarified, pausing to look over Anita’s shoulder to stare pointedly at Miko. The teen girl just shrugged, not really jumping to her own defense.

 The three of them had successfully distracted Anita long enough for Ratchet to complete his work. The all stepped back as he moved to Anita’s side, Optimus not too far behind. She watched as Ratchet transformed his welder back into a hand, briefly wondering if she would be able to do the same.

 “Off with you three,” grumbled the medic, making a shoo motion with his hand. “Go wait for Agent Fowler or what have you.”

 Everyone except Anita obeyed, climbing the stairs to the final level of the platform wordlessly.

 “And I don’t want to see any of you watching the arc as I weld!” he called after them. Anita grinned. Ratchet sounded the stereotypical grumpy grandfather.

 The medic turned his attention to her once the others reached the top of the stairs, holding his chin between his thumb and index digit. With his free hand, he lifted her limb and held it out to the side, eyeing the Decepticon symbol.

 “The procedure should be relatively simple, but I will need something to protect your. . . _fleshier_ parts.”

 Before Anita could remark on his odd choice of words, Optimus stepped forward. He moved his hand to cup her left side, sliding her mech arm in between his index and middle digits. In this position, his thumb and index digit blocked her head, and the other three digits protected her torso and legs.

 “Will this suffice, old friend?”

 “It’ll do,” Ratchet shifted his hand back into a welder. “Now hold still. You should only experience some mild discomfort.”

 With Optimus’ hand blocking her view, she looked instead to the Autobot leader’s face.

 “Now we’re going to match,” she remarked with a grin. The Prime returned her sentiment.

 “We will, and it will be symbolic of our new and shared beginning.”

 Anita beamed at his sincerity. She could see now how Orion Pax and Optimus Prime were the same person, but different still. Optimus Prime _was_ Orion Pax, but with a certain wisdom and experience that only came through years of battle. And although he didn’t remember their harrowing escape from the _Nemesis_ , she felt that at the very least, their platonic bond had survived the ordeal. That much was for certain, though there were gaps in her knowledge that she hoped would be filled later on.

“Optimus?” she began. “Forgive me if I sound eager to leave, but when can I go home? I haven’t seen my mom and sister in a year, and I really, _really_ need a shower and some clean clothes.”

The Autobot leader looked away, guilt clear on his features. She heard Ratchet falter in his work, and a knot formed in the pit of her stomach.

 “I am. . . sorry, Anita.” Optimus began, forcing himself to meet her eyes. “But I fear that the Decepticons would utilize any given opportunity to resume their experimentations on you. They would use you to get to me, or worse still, put your family in harm's way for the same means.”

 “But-”

 “You were not home when the Decepticons abducted you,” Ratchet added. “Meaning that they don’t know where or who your family is. Remaining in that state of obscurity means that they are safe.”

 Optimus curled his digits inwards, an action Anita knew was meant to comfort her, almost like a hug.

 “Until we can ensure the safety of you and your family, you may remain here at our base. There are human accommodations here, though they have not seen use since we arrived.” he explained. “And I loath to confine you within the base halls, as you would only trade one cell for another. Therefore,” the Autobot leader smiled then. “I am assigning myself to act as your guardian should you need to venture outside our walls.”

 Stunned silence fell over the room. Ratchet paused his work, opening his mouth to object, but quickly thought better of it and resumed his welding.

“Woah!” Miko exclaimed. “Boss Bot joins the club! Now we just have to get Ratchet a person!”

“ _No._ ”

“Optimus,” Anita began softly. “I don’t. . . I can’t begin to thank you enough for what you’ve done for me.” She took a deep breath, steeling her gaze as she met her guardian’s optics.

“I swear to you, I’ll do everything I can to help your cause, and keep our home _safe._ ”

Optimus nodded his thanks, pride shining through his features.

“Woah, hang on,” Nurse Darby spoke up, pointing decidedly at Optimus. “She is _not_ going to be brought along on missions of any sort. She’s a child!”

“Mom, you didn’t _see_ Anita out there,” Jack interjected. “She was keeping up with Arcee like she’d been doing it all her life. The Decepticons took her and made her into a weapon. I think she should be the one to decide what to do with that.”

“Jack’s got a point,” said Arcee. “With training, and think Anita could make the ‘Cons regret picking her up, easily.”

Before Anita could add her opinion into the mix, the screens on the far side of the platform sounded out three consecutive beeps.

“Proximity sensors.” Bulkhead announced. “Fowler’s back.”

Miko let out a woop, and the three teens ran further onto the level above Anita, disappearing from view. Nurse Darby shook her head before joining them.

“His timing is impeccable, as always.” Ratchet muttered, stepping away from Anita. “Be careful, it still requires time to cool.”

Optimus carefully removed his hand from her side, allowing Anita to take the new Autobot symbol adorning her shoulder. She turned her attention back to Ratchet, the sounds of his welder transforming back into a hand reminding her of her earlier curiosity.

Holding her left hand aloft, she willed it to change once more, the image of the medic’s welder held in her mind. The seams split as before, but quickly began to rearrange until a smaller duplicate of Ratchet’s welder sat at the end of her wrist. Willing power to it, a bright blue arc sprang to life at the tip. Ratchet floundered, shocked by Anita’s newfound ability.

“How on Earth-” he leaned forward to study the welder. Anita killed the arc for safety. “I highly doubt that the Decepticons would program your T-cog with such a functional tool state, but that would mean. . .”

“Ratchet? What is it?” Anita asked, looking between Optimus and the medic. “Can’t all of you do this?”

“No. Our abilities to transform are limbs are restricted. Most only have two alternative forms, designated by the role the bot was built for. For example,” Ratchet shifted his hand into the blades she had seen in the confrontation with Megatron. “I am a doctor. Therefore I am only able to produce mesh welders and scalpels.”

Anita transformed the welder back into a hand, and Ratchet did the same with his scalpels.

“Anita is not entirely Cybertronian,” Optimus stated. “Without enough mass to produce a vehicular alt-mode, her T-cog may be free to transform what little Cybertronian mass there is into as many different forms as she chooses. The only limitation would be Anita’s own imagination and the mass of the desired form.”

She stared incredulously at her arm. “Can I try something different?”

“Perhaps later, Anita,” Optimus held a hand in front of her. She climbed on, and he lifted her onto the upper level to join the others. “Right now, there is _pizza_ waiting for you.”

 

***

Later that night, after the pizza vanished into their bellies and the empty boxes were cleaned up, Anita laid awake on the old couch that decorated the upper level. Everyone else, even Ratchet, had retired soon after they’d eaten. The humans had been returned to their homes, and each guardian bot crept quietly down the hall to their private quarters upon their return. Though Optimus had promised her her own private quarters on base, she would have to sleep on the couch tonight until the room could be thoroughly cleaned.

Nurse Darby had left promising to return as soon as she was able with all the clean clothes and toiletries she could carry. Until then, they had found old military sweats for her to wear. The items were almost too big on her and reeked of mothballs, but anything was better than the filthy rags that she had been forced to wear everyday for a year.

Anita huffed in frustration. She was she knew she was tired and needed to sleep. How could she not, after the nightmarish day she’d had? But sleep eluded her, and not for lack of trying.

She sat up, throwing off the small throw blanket that she was using, and stood. Her limbs were tired and complained as she began to move around, but Anita still felt stronger than she ever had since her abduction. Looking around for a distraction, her eyes fell on the elevator a few feet away from the couch. She had seen Agent Fowler leave through that elevator, meaning that it lead up and out of the base.

Knowing full well the sort of trouble she could be in if caught, Anita entered the elevator and pressed the up button.

_If there’s nothing to see, then I’ll come right back._ , she thought. _Easy._

The ride up was ultimately uneventful. She was sad to find that this wasn’t the type of elevator to play music, though not surprised given that she was in an old military base. The air around her began to cool as she climbed higher. The doors opened silently, and Anita was hit with cold desert night air and one incredible sight.

The elevator opened onto a helipad, which sat on top of one of Nevada’s many mesas. The desert stretched out below, the black ribbon of the highway winding through it. Above her, more stars than she could believe twinkled in an indigo sky.

“Anita, is everything alright?”

The young woman jumped, so captivated by the natural wonder around her that she failed to realize that she hadn’t been alone on the roof. Something she’d have to work on if she wanted to join the Autobots out in the field.

“Oh, Optimus.” she let out a sigh of relief. “I’m okay. I just. . . couldn’t sleep.”

“I apologize for startling you.” Anita crossed the helipad to stand closer to him. Optimus watched her with worried optics.

“Today’s events trouble you.” he surmised. She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Among other things.”

She tore her gaze away from the desert as Optimus lowered a hand in front of her. Climbing on, she was reminded of how surprisingly warm and alive these metal beings felt. They were living beings, not just giant automatons. Looking up at her guardian’s face, Anita was prompted to continue by his expression alone.

“I guess. . .” she began, attempting to find the words. “I was on that ship for so long, never knowing what was going to happen to me next. I was so afraid that I’d force myself to stay awake until I passed out.” She leaned back against Optimus’ curled digits. The warmth around her, accompanied by the night sounds, soothed her. “Now I’m safe. I know that in my mind, but it’s like the rest of me won’t listen.”

The Autobot scowled, pulling her in closer to his chest and cupping his free hand around her to block the wind. The additional warmth had Anita’s eyes sliding shut.

“Anita, you will never be harmed by the Decepticons again,” he held the young human in his gaze, willing her to feel his commitment to the oath. “This I vow with my entire spark.”

Anita smiled sleepily in his palm, turning over to face his chest, tucking her right arm under her head. She yawned, then within a few silent moments, her features relaxed as sleep finally claimed her.

“Sleep well, Anita.” Optimus spoke softly. “You are safe here.”


End file.
